UE posts 2nd straight win at expense of skidding Adamson

Photo from UAAP

MANILA, Philippines—A rejuvenated University of the East nailed its first winning streak of UAAP Season 82, after dumping Adamson, 80-74, Saturday to rev up its Final Four drive at Mall of Asia Arena.

Senegalese slotman Alex Diakhite finished with 29 points, including 23 in the second half, and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Red Warriors followed up their conquest of National University by taking down one of this season’s top contenders in the Falcons.

Rey Suerte also pumped in 26 points and had seven rebounds for UE, which shot almost 52 percent from the field.

“On the board in the dugout, the reminder was this was a must-win game,” said Suerte. “We knew that we still have a great chance of making the Final Four if we keep winning.”

The victory forged a tie at sixth spot between the Warriors and the Falcons, who both own 3-5 records. UST, which is at No. 4 with a 4-3 record, is slated to play Ateneo later in the second game.

The Warriors also got solid contributions from reserves Chris Connor, Jojo Antiporda and Leon Lorenzana as they avenged their 80-91 first round loss to the Falcons.

Adamson led by as many as 11 points in the first half, before UE made its move late in the third period. Down 48-50, Philip Manalang and Antiporda nailed back to back treys to trigger the 17-6 run that allowed the Warriors to seize control. Diakhite fired 15 of his output in the third period.

Diakhite and Suerte nearly matched the output of the entire Adamson team in the second half, 37-38.
“The players did a wonderful job today,” said UE coach Bong Tan. “I’m glad that the other players stepped up. We expect a lot from Alex and Rey but guys like Connor and Antiporda did their job. They made our
team unpredictable.”

Lenda Douanga and Jerrom Lastimosa scored 16 points each to lead the Falcons, whose gunners Val Chauca and Jerrick Ahanmisi struggled on a combined 8-of-30 shooting.

The scores:

UE 80 – Diakhite 29, Suerte 26, Conner 7, Manalang 5, Abanto 3,
Antiporda 3, Lorenzana 3, Apacible 2, Tolentino 2, Cruz 0, Pagsanjan 0

ADAMSON 74 – Douanga 16, Lastimosa 16, Ahanmisi 11, Camacho 11, Chauca
9, Bernardo 3, Fermin 2, Manlapaz 2, Mojica 2, Yerro 2, Flowers 0,
Magbuhos 0, Sabandal 0

Quarter scores: 18-22, 31-36, 59-56, 80-74